Will Liberal Maryland be first state to vote ‘yes’ on gay marriage?

Irene Huskens has the wedding venue picked out: a charming bed-and-breakfast in southern Maryland. But the wedding is no sure thing.

The plans made by Huskens, a 43-year-old police captain, and her partner, Leia Burks, hinge on whether Marylanders make history on Nov. 6 by voting to legalize same-sex marriage. A “yes” vote, and the wedding is on. A “no” victory? Huskens is loath to consider it.

“There are a lot of Marylanders who want to set the precedent of equality who will vote from their gut for fairness,” she said at her colonial suburban home in Prince George’s County, where she and Burks are raising two adopted children.

Dating back to 1998, 32 states have held votes on same-sex marriage, and all 32 have opposed it. Maryland is one of four states with Nov. 6 referendums on the issue — and gay-marriage advocates believe there’s a strong chance the streak will be broken.

In Maryland, Maine and Washington, it’s an up-or-down vote on legalizing same-sex marriage. In Minnesota, there’s a measure to place a ban on gay marriage in the state constitution, as 30 other states have done previously.